Eating sustainably – a topic ever-present and everywhere, yet have you given any thought to sustainable beverages?
Increasingly, consumers are putting a higher priority on quality and sustainability when buying beverages. This involves innovative technologies in the production process and resource-saving machines. However, a rethinking has also begun in packaging towards a closed cycle economy which takes recycling and environmentally friendly materials into account.
Regional and environmentally friendly: reusable glass and plastic bottles
Every adult should drink at least 1.5 liters of water a day. Those who rely on regional thirst refreshers help preserve the environment through short transport routes and also contribute to supporting the regional economy.
There are more than 1800 breweries, juice cellars and mineral springs in Germany. Most of them work with a reusable system and refill bottles.
Incidentally, reusable glass and plastic bottles are the most environmentally friendly beverage containers, as PET bottles are generally used about 25 times and glass bottles as many as 50 times.
Which thirst quenchers are better for the environment?
Tap water is at the top of the list. You have no transport routes, do not have to carry crates and you pay a whole 27 cents for 121 liters. By way of comparison, the most you can get for that is a bottle of mineral water. Germany’s tap water is the most strictly controlled food product. And we are debunking another myth right away: Contrary to what is often assumed, tap water has a higher mineral percentage than mineral water.
If you fancy a little more taste, then take a look at where the nearest farm store is located. Now is the perfect time to stock up on apple, pear and quince juice directly from the producer.
Sustainability and beverages at our Green Pearls
We asked our Green Pearls®partners and wanted to know how they deal with the topic. Maybe you will find one or two inspirations.
Eco Aparthotel The Dreamers Club, Korcuala – Drinks from our own production
We offer freshly filtered water with homegrown herbs such as meta and lemon balm. The orange juice is made from eco oranges and the refreshing lemonade is prepared from the lemons of our ecological lemon trees in the Dreamers Club.
We also provide our guests green smoothies and organic herbal teas.
CERVO Mountain Resort, Zermatt supports „Water is Right“
When it comes to beverages, we are also keeping an eye on sustainability and are continually looking for and extending our beverage menu. The soft drinks like Vivi Kola, Gazosa Monti, Nycha Kombucha, etc. come from Switzerland. Most of these are produced sustainably and are also organic.
We use only the best Zermatt Mountain water for water, which is carbonated in the house if desired. We donate CHF 1.00 per liter of water to the organization Water is Right – which in turn invests it in projects.
The wine list indicates whether the wines are organic, biodynamic, Demeter or natural. This is the case for 80% of our wines. The remaining 20% are mostly vintners who simply cannot afford certification because they are too small. But they have been working very carefully and sustainably in their vineyards for decades.
ADLER Lodge RITTEN labels regional wines and juices as “ADLER Regional Partner
The desire to anchor regional products sustainably in our culinary offerings gradually gave birth to cooperative partnerships with farmers and agricultural businesses and wineries from the region. Therefore, our wines and juices come from the region and are marked on our menus with the brand “ADLER Regional Partner“. From time to time we also offer apple juice tastings.
Creativhotel Luise and Franconian Beer
All our beverages are certified organic and come from the region. We are familiar with all suppliers and products, because we only want to sell and recommend beverages that we ourselves are convinced of. A special attention we put on beers and their breweries, since Franconia has to offer particularly good beer. Be it the Klosterbrauerei Weißenohe or Neumarkter Lammsbräu – not only is a great deal of value placed on environmental protection here, but excellent Franconian beer is also produced. In order for our guests to also learn about the special features behind the beverages and their producers, you can also find additional interesting information about them in our beverage menu.
Maslina Resort, Hvar – own ingredients from own cultivation
The philosophy behind our cocktails is to make all the ingredients ourselves. Offering homemade sherberts and cordials made from grapefruit peels, we infuse classic gins with our own flavors like cucumber and strawberry, and we make clarified Bloody Marys. In our beach area, we serve coffee in mugs made from leftover coffee.
Whenever possible, we order from local suppliers, mainly small farms and producers on the island of Hvar. The suppliers should provide consistent quality of products and also share our philosophy in regards to packaging.
In terms of drinks, we aim to stand out from the crowd, so we can offer our guests an experience they may never have encountered before. This is connected with the use of ingredients that are native to Hvar.
Naturhotel Outside and Bio Juices
All our juices are organic, we also offer regional alternatives to Coca Cola & CO : Tirola Cola, Makava organic iced tea, organic teas from Sonnentor, homemade lemonades and our signature cocktail “Zirbenwirbel”.
Océano Health Spa Hotel and regional suppliers
In the restaurant and kitchen, we are increasingly striving to use controlled products, which are regionally produced or offered. Since 2019, the use of mineral water has already been switched to water stations with certified filtered mineral water. Glas water bottles are provided to the guest for his stay and can be refilled at any time at various water stations as well as in the restaurant. Thus, the complete waste volume for plastic bottles and the transport of the daily required amount of water to supply all guests with mineral water, is omitted. At the restaurant the guest can choose from a wide selection of quality wines. All the wines come from the island of Tenerife and particular attention has been paid in the selections to controlled cultivation. All certified organic wines produced on Tenerife are represented on the wine list, while other wines are produced and processed with care.
Similarly, the selection of breweries – at the OCÉANO exclusively beers from two regional craft beer breweries are offered. These breweries consciously select their brewing ingredients. No beer is offered from mass production and transport routes are minimized in this way.
Biohotel Sturm, Rhön – drinks from 100% organic farming
The Biohotel Sturm also takes sustainability into account when it comes to its beverages. No matter whether Franconian wine, the freshly tapped beer or the spirits and soft drinks, all beverages come from 100% organically controlled cultivation.
The beverage menu includes everything that a guest’s heart desires and, in addition, one or two of our own creations – all 100% organic. Among them: Beer, wine, juices, soft drinks, lemonades, sherry, port, vermouth, pastis, grappa, tequila, armagnac, cognac, whiskey, brandy, rum, vodka, calvados, gin and liqueurs. There are even organic alternatives for the Aperol Spritz, Campari-O and also various gin and tonics. Besides regionality and sustainability, the beverage menu also emphasizes diversity as well as individuality – for example, through the use of garden herbs or berries. For example, the homemade lemonade with fruit from the Naschgarten (seasonally varied, of course), the Sturm’s Homemade Cafélikör (caution delicious) or homemade syrups and purees to refine our signature cocktails. And not to forget the unique breakfast smoothie made from fruits/vegetables and herbs from our own garden as well as the ginger menu with Gimber Limo, Gin Tonic or even the Gimber Apple Spritz. The same standards also apply to suppliers, who are all local and directly sourced wherever possible. Just as we are climate-neutral, we pay attention to sustainability with our suppliers as well. The Bionade brewery, for example, has been 100% climate neutral since 2020, and our winegrowers from Franconia, Palatinate, Moselle, etc. also support their ecological agriculture and the sustainability of their products by dispensing with pesticides and chemicals.
Be it the Franconian wine & fruit brandies from Würzburg from Weingut am Stein or the single malt whisky from Bold’s Schnapsideen from Wartmannsroth, Der Birkwild 74 herbal liqueur and franconia dry gin – dandelion dust from Trappstadt, the spelt rice brandy from BioHof May in Junkershausen, beers on tap from the Rhönpiraten in Ostheim, Hefeweizen from Rother Bräu in Roth, Bionade from Ostheim, MEE coffee from Bad Neustadt, to name just a few.
There is also personal contact with all suppliers, which is strengthened and consolidated by excursions to company events. In 2021, for example, a tour of the coffee roasting plant took place with all employees, and the May organic farm and the Weingut am Stein vineyard were also visited.
HUBERTUS Mountain Refugio Allgäu – certified organic and regional
We offer our guests mainly regional products, if possible certified organic, like our Now-Bionaden, Lindauer juices and our beer from Härle Bier. We work with regional partners such as Meckatzer and Zötler who produce beer, as well as many gins from the Senft distillery in Salem, liquor from Gierer and Prinz Brandies from Vorarlberg. For our wine list we make sure that the emphasis is on German and Austrian wines. Our demands concerning the suppliers are biological and / or sustainable production, no long delivery ways, highest quality.
SCHWARZWALD PANORAMA, Bad Herrenalb focuses on certified organic quality
All our food and beverages consist of at least 90% certified organic quality. Our organic beer is ordered from Lammsbräu, the organic wines are exclusively from organic wineries such as Weingut Höfflin. Of course, we demand organic quality from our suppliers, and we make sure that we support regional companies and that the transport distances are not too far, so this can be reconciled with our ecological corporate philosophy.
How do you handle this at home? What tips do you have and what are your experiences when traveling?
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